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January 8, 2014

UPDATED: Piazza Misses Hall Of Fame

As expected, Mike Piazza has missed the hall of fame, receiving only 62.2 of the necessary 75 percent of the vote required to be inducted.

Originally posted under: Piazza Not Expected To Be Elected Into The Hall Of Fame

Per a report by ESPN New York's Adam Rubin, when the 2014 Baseball Hall Of Fame class is announced at 2pm today, Mike Piazza's name will not be called. This will be the second time in as many years, since he becoming eligible last year.

Rubin cites reports from Baseball Think Factory which indicate that Piazza has only 68.6 percent of the vote on the ballots that have been made public to date. Although that represents just one third of the total vote cast, it doesn't look promising. Players become eligible for the Hall Of Fame five years after retirement and may remain on the ballot for up to fifteen years, so this is far from Piazza's last chance. However, it is still discouraging.

Piazza made twelve all-star appearances, over his sixteen years in the majors. He played with five teams during that time, spending the most time with the Mets (8 years) and the Dodgers (7 years). It is widely speculated that he would entered the Hall Of Fame with a Mets hat, however that decision is made by Major League Baseball.

Piazza hit 220 of his 426 home runs while playing in New York and remains the all-time leader in that category for catchers. Despite never being found guilty of using performance enhancing drugs the rumors have persisted and Piazza is likely struggling to overcome a bit of guilt by association when it comes to voting. Fair? Not from where I'm standing, but the system is known to be flawed for better or worse. Unless there is a surprise swing in the voting, we can expect to do this again next season as he tries to be come just the second player to represent the Mets in Cooperstown.